Milwaukee County Zoo: New animals welcomed to family

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee County Zoo has added three female scimitar-horned oryx and a group of six black-tailed prairie dogs to the Milwaukee County Zoo family.

The oryx family are from The Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio. They are one of five species of oryx, a type of antelope. Two of the three oryx are half-sisters named Moza and Zahara. They’re young and still growing at just 1-year-old. The third, Babe, is 6 years old. Their new home is in the former elephant yard, where they’ve settled in with very healthy appetites.

Oryx (Credit Milwaukee County Zoo)

According to the Milwaukee County Zoo, scimitar-horned oryx are a desert and semi-desert species native to North Africa, in the Sahara-Sahel region. They are currently extinct in the wild, and conservation scientists have started reintroduction projects in Tunisia, Chad and Niger. Oryx can range in shoulder height from 3 ½ - 4 ½ feet and weigh between 220-450 pounds. Scimitar oryx are the only oryx whose horns curve backward.

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Oryx (Credit Milwaukee County Zoo)

Historically, oryx are social mammals and lived in herds of up to 70 individuals, often led by a single male, although they’ve also been spotted in herds of thousands. They feed on grasses, herbs, leaves and, when water is scarce, fruits and vegetables.

The Milwaukee County Zoo welcomed a group of six male prairie dogs that are located in the North America section in the habitat adjacent to the elk. According to the animal care staff, within hours after arriving from the Minnesota Zoo, the animals started digging their burrows and holes in the habitat. Prairie dogs live with hundreds of others in the network of tunnels. When hungry, they emerge to forage for food.

The prairie dogs will hopefully hibernate in mid-November, so they need to get their tunnels finished and stabilized for the winter.